With the possibility of a large Cascadia subduction zone earthquake or other natural disaster still on people's minds, the UO School of Journalism and Communication is working with Oregon Public Broadcasting to measure what kinds of messages about preparedness resonate with audiences.

The two partnered in November on “Don’t Wait for the Quake,” an event at the UO’s White Stag Block in Portland that featured four short videos produced by journalism students. Audience members used the engagement platform Harvis to react to content and answer questions from the moderators, including assistant professor Ed Madison.

Andrew DeVigal, the school’s Chair in Journalism and Innovation and Civic Engagement, is the creator of Harvis, “a mobile web application that empowers individuals to share their perspectives and be active participants in collective, action-oriented dialogue by capturing their real-time emotional responses to recorded or live-media.”

OPB will rebroadcast the event at 9 p.m. Monday on its television channels. The goal is to gather a larger audience sample of data, which students will analyze.

For more information about the November event, see “SOJC hosts ‘Don’t Wait for the Quake’ forum in PDX.”  

—By Heidi Hiaasen, Public Affairs Communications